Chicago Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca stunned the WNBA world when the franchise announced they had traded their top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft — the No. 3 pick — in exchange for Washington Mystics guard Ariel Atkins.
Chicago Sky general manager reveals why he traded lottery pick
The Sky opted to trade their No. 3 pick for Ariel Atkins weeks before top prospects opted not to enter the 2025 WNBA Draft. Jeff Pagliocca shared why.
Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
Atkins, a two-time All-Star, averaged 14.9 points and 3.1 assists in 2025, and is an elite two-way player. But, given the youth of the Sky — their top two players are both coming off their rookie seasons — many expected Chicago to continue acquiring young talent in hopes of building for the future.
Instead, the Sky acquired a 28-year-old veteran who will only be under contract for one more year, a move that many did not expect.
Since then, however, several top prospects have dropped out of the 2025 Draft; Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles opted to transfer to TCU rather than enter the draft, LSU guard Flaujae Johnson similarly announced she won’t be entering, and UConn guard Azzi Fudd is also returning for a final season of eligibility.
Miles was projected to be a Top Three pick after a standout season at Notre Dame, and seemed like she could be a strong fit alongside Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. Instead, the two star post players will play alongside a more veteran player with a proven record of success in the WNBA. The Sky also added veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot and former Los Angeles Sparks forward Kia Nurse.
Jeff Pagliocca shares that acquiring Ariel Atkins was a top priority
On Thursday, in a pre-draft media availability, Pagliocca was asked whether the uncertainty around who was available played a role in the Sky’s decision to trade away their top pick.
“I’ve been waiting for this one,” Pagliocca said of the inquiry. “The decision to try to get Ariel Atkins was an Ariel Atkins decision — not due to the strength of the draft. If anything, it just shows how much we believe in her to move such a strong pick.”
Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
Some have speculated in recent weeks that the Sky may have known that players like Miles would not be available — and therefore, trading for Atkins would have been a heads-up move. But, Pagliocca said that the Sky were not privy to such information.
“We probably didn’t know any more than anybody else,” he said. “And obviously, we made that deal, quite a bit ago, before some of these players made decisions. But again, when we have an opportunity to add somebody that checks the boxes that we’re looking forward to, to get us closer not alone the playoffs, but to get closer to a championship again, that’s why we did what we did with Ariel.”
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